The 5 Steps to becoming a trader

I will put a big reply....so some people can see how the real journey has been and can see what is REAL FOREX journey is .. this all with a full time job that takes 13 hours of day with commute...

 

1. Heard about Forex on May 2007
2. Joined FF on July 2007
3. Forex looked very easy...
4. Fav indicator MACD.
5. sometime i see MACD changin as price changing.. hmm so price has some meaning...but its ok we can see that in indicatory...
6. Many blown up demo accounts
7. April end 2008 GO Live ... we need real feel...
8. June 2008 monthly result is 8% per month
9. Didnt felt enough as i need to be millionare soon....went and found another thread with indicators...
   Indicator ..mostly based on carry trades
10. But in mean time was looking at TAF TAF... but heart said TAF is right... mind said indicator is right..
11. 1 Aug 2008 i am up 22%.... now time to go big.
12. Indicator telling USD will go down after bounce... we go big... Short USD.....dradown ..short double...
13. End Aug 2008 i get out of position and my book is net 30% (rule if u r down 30% chances is u will blow full account)...negative... 2 month break from trading...
14. Oct 2008 trading starts again...same scorpio.... 25% more down... total net account down 50%.... now i know something is wrong....
15. start reading TAF seriously....
16. Jan 2009 start making ..1 cent a day....
17. Feb 2009 lost 5% again...
18. march April may made back 3% total.....
19. June 2009 lost 5% again....
20. Aug 2009 start trading ...this is where step 3 kinda kicked....
21. Dec 2009 .. YTD 25% up.....
22. Jan 2010 -- YTD 5% up.....max drawdown being 1.25%.....

Guys this has been my journey...... i wish and hope you have a smaller one....luckily never one full blown up account....

V

nice article there

i think i'm definitely between step two and three.
just have to keep on grinding until i have a proven system then i can start to trade with a bigger lot size.

omg wonderful read,thanx a million,i didnt realize i have reached to level 4, just few more months and you can hire me as a profitable trading robot

regards

Hey Indy, 8% is enough! Keep that up for 5 years and you will be a millionaire! (but you will have to stake $10k).

Went and found another thread with indicators? Go back and read post #1 ! Indicators are there to support your decision making process, they are not there to make decisions for you.

Anyway it is good to see you are still in there and making money again. Good fortune to you

Those are the steps of learning and practicing anything. At least if you want to be a pro. I have learned these steps in sales and in management - the only difference is the content, the road is the same. Which proves once again that forex is a business. And a very hard one on top of that.

print it, frame it, hang it on the wall above the PC, and read it daily... INSTANT CLASSIC... thank You so much !!

This article is really true and its been happening to many wannabe traders out there. Newbies must read this first if they want to bea trader after all. Lots of people are into forex for the challenge it brings. And just like in step 5 it wanes when their is no more challenge in it.

Do you think the challenge goes away at step-5? I ask because I am not at step-5 and there is still challenge in every trade, although they do need to be a bit bigger these days to keep my attention on the boil.

In a trader life the challenges never ends, but what you will find at step 5 is that, you will get used with them(will be smth very normal/routine) and furthermore, the challenges will not be so big as long as you stick to your business plan. But, like in any business, you will have challenges.
So, the discipline is what counts in the long term(manage greed,fear).

I think this article is brillant. I have been trading for just over a year. at the beginning pure luck I was making money and thought I was great. The more I read the worse I got.. The more indicators I used the more I lost. I think I am at step 2. consious incompetence. I am thinking of going back to the basics. I don't intend to give this up, I believe it will take a minimum of 3 years to be consistently profitable, right now am consistently losing. Thanks for the article it is nice to know that there are steps and not everyone gets there fast.... You do start to doubt yourself and your ability when you listen to the forums and people are saying made this amount of pips today. Hangng tough, I know it is about finding a method that suits my personality, just got to keep looking, it will come.

i like that post ... good job ... epic

It took me a year to get to stage 3-4, I'm no 18 months in and still there, now profitable and aiming for 5+.

I only started trading in Dec 08, I've never blown an account and overall I'm up on the markets, from complete novice to profit in under 18 months - I'm happy with that.

It does not mean when you get to step 5 you will automatically lose your interest in trading. Step 5 is the last frontier of trading life. This means, you are with forex trading for years and you already know the ups and downs of trading. Somehow you will lost interest along the way for a feeling of monotonous routines. We as humans, encounter this feeling even on other activity or hobby we get into. The lack of challenge cause this to happen.

Usually, when this happens, we just take a vacation from trading and be back when the urge to trade again is back.

pushing the thread
up up up

Step 2 here. Was approaching Step 3 then I blew 50% of my account a few weeks ago. That's now become 90% and I'm left wondering what went wrong. The important thing is I'm still alive in the market. It'll require a lot of work, but I know in a few months (maybe longer) I can rebuild my account. Don't wanna add any more money.

First time I've ever seen this post!

Someone called it a classic.....they are right. Why? Cuz Dial was spot on when he wrote this. Those steps will be traveled by anyone who completes this journey to trading proficiency. Wish I knew about this earlier.

What makes this funny for me is I know Dial. We've dined together on one occasion. We converse pretty regularly. He claims to have learned a thing or two from me. I KNOW I've learned much from him. And......he is one great guy.

Like Dial mentions;

Since I don't post much here anymore, I won't get into any long conversation other than to mention that I'll pass along to Dial that some folks still find his stuff useful 4.5 years later! I think that will please him!

Good luck to those along these stages. I will give one hint: Eventually you will have to get off the system bandwagon and learn HOW to trade. It is a skill-set that can be learned......but it takes time. Years.....and 1000's of hours. Yep....1000's of hours of testing and study. Sorry....there are no shortcuts. I looked for quite some time......ain't there. Don't expect to make a living doing this with any less work than you would devote to mastering any other vocation. This is not get-rich quick. Those with intelligence and maturity will know that and understand why it must be so. Sorry if that bursts any bubbles.

Ciao!

Amazingly accurate, great post Diallist

get rich slow... thats one i agreed and realize in forex
been in this business for 3 months, blow up 3 real account and still learning price action and complexity of forex market.

want to be consistent profitable in this market? i believe it takes more than 3 years. passion really needed in this kind of risky business.

thanks for the post

is there a sticky option in the forum ?
apparently not,
FF should consider introducing it ... any way to pass the idea to the admin ?

i like it! although i don't know if I'll ever be bored of it but i do know what you mean when you say a job is a job..